A Tip About Giving Pills

Sunday, June 17th, 2012 at
12:57 am

Some of my cats are so combative when I try to give them a pill it takes me forever to get it down them! I’m sure you’ve had this problem too. One thing I learned over the years is to crush the pill and add some water to it. I then suck it up into a syringe (the ones without needles, obviously) and find I can poke it into the side of their mouths and squirt it in.

Several things to remember though are:

1. Make sure you check with your vet to be positive the medication can be crushed and watered down. Most can, but some cannot.

2. I use a very large serving spoon to put the pill in and then another small spoon to lay on top of the pill and press down to crush it.

3. Use as little water as you can, but enough to dissolve the pill. You don’t want to have to get tons of liquid down them…you can do it in one dose.

Chloe getting some medicine.

4. When you put the syringe in the side of their mouth, be sure you gently slide it toward the back of their throat. If you just barely get it in the side, it will spill back out. I usually grasp the back of their neck (the scruff) and tilt their head backwards slightly, then put the syringe in and squirt. Also, try to squirt slowly, so you don’t shock them with the sudden rush of liquid.

5. After you squirt it in, try to gently hold their mouth shut for a few seconds, with their head still slightly held back, so they won’t start shaking their head and spit it out. Sometimes they will lose a little of it, but I’ve never found this to be a problem. Again, check with your vet about this and ask if this would be a problem if they don’t quite get the entire dose.

I have found this works well and is easier than trying to poke that pill in the back of their throats. It has saved me some bites too! The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it. Hope this helps with pill giving!